Microbiome of Rhizospheric Soil and Vermicompost and Their Applications in Soil Fertility, Pest and Pathogen Management for Sustainable Agriculture

Abstract

Plant rhizospheric soil is rich in microbes due to the release of exudates that serve as food for microbes. Metabolic activity of the root system and the nature of soil influence the microbial population. Through the process of mineralization, microbes assimilate the nitrogen and other essential nutrients. Specific strains of bacteria that inhabit the rhizospheric region are specifically termed as “plant growth promoting rhizobacteria” and therefore, used as “biofertilizers” to manage soil fertility. This group of bacteria is also termed as “biocontrol agents” due to their potential to suppress pests and pathogens that attack crop plants. In the agriculture field soil, earthworms also play a key role in nutrient cycling through their interaction with soil microbes. Therefore, earthworm cast microbiome receives greater attention. In this chapter, we propose to describe the biological role of rhizospheric soil and vermicompost bacteria and their mechanisms that mediate soil fertility, plant growth promotion and biocontrol of pests and pathogens.

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Acknowledgment

We thank Department of Biotechnology (DBT), New Delhi and University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi respectively for Junior and Senior Research Fellowship to Dr. J. Pathma and Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship to Dr. G. Raman. We also thank UGC-SAP and DST-FIST programmes coordinated by Prof. N. Sakthivel for providing infrastructure facilities.